Germie Bernard's Physicality Shows Up in Both Alabama's Run and Pass Game

The Alabama transfer's toughness got him in the end zone for the first time this season this past Saturday.

Sep 7, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide wide receiver Germie Bernard (5) celebrates after a first down reception against the South Florida Bulls at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images / Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images

Alabama's offense exploded at the end of the first half against Wisconsin this past week for a two-play, 73-yard touchdown to stretch the Crimson Tide lead to 18 points just before halftime. Alabama wide receiver Germie Bernard found himself on the receiving end of a 26-yard Jalen Milroe throw near the sidelines of the end zone for the score. It was the Washington transfer's first touchdown catch in an Alabama uniform.

"I probably was pressing more than anybody else about him getting in the endzone," Alabama receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard said. "I really did want to get him in the endzone at some point. However, I'm not going to ever do it and sacrifice anything for our football team and I think Germie would express the same thing. "

But the route he ran was fantastic. It's a super detailed route, with the vertical pressure that he has to put on a defender to keep him deep enough so that when he breaks to the inside - now, if you watch the route, he's supposed to get his eyes back - but he did a good job understanding that the defender wasn't really leaning as much as he needed him to. So he kind of kept his eyes on the defender so that he can rip back through the outside of the defender and get back. But again, it's the physical toughness that he has to run through contact. A lot of guys in that situation, contact, they start flailing their arms, 'Hey, that's pass interference'. No, he wasn't allowing it because he was hungry for it and he wanted that one."

Bernard's hauled in eight receptions for 125 yards and a score in his three games with the Crimson Tide as he and Milroe continue to build their connection. While it's not an eye-popping box score through just three games the transfer has been impactful in other ways. Alabama has rushed for 804 yards, good for 238 yards per game and a big part has been the Crimson Tide wide receviers blocking on the outside.

Alabama receiver Kendrick Law's drawn praise for some of his pancake blocks from the Wisconsin game, but Shephard was quick to commend Bernard for his efforts in that area as well.

"Certainly, if you watch the tape, Germie Bernard is blocking just as well as him. I don't know if he's as violent as Law is at times, however, Germie Bernard is a technician," Shephard said. "He really, truly is. He's going to get the right leverage, be in the right location where he needs to be. But then I tell these guys all the time, 'Knee benders are jawbreakers'. So they're going to bend their knees to strike on contact and that's what Germie does better than anybody else is bend his knees so that he can uncoil and strike on contact."

Shephard spent the offseason preaching that his receivers room would play with physicality and intensity and through three games they've done exactly that.